5 Eco-Friendly Creative Activities for Children

Here at Small & Wild, we love getting stuck into a good craft activity - especially when we combine it with a good cuppa! We've bought a few of Wonder & Wild Club's brilliant activity boxes and the kids have really enjoyed being creative with eco materials. We chatted with Wonder & Wild Club Founder, Louise, to get her 5 top eco-friendly creative activities for your little people.

 

Guest Blog from Louise, Wonder & Wild Club

Most art and craft materials available to children score pretty low on the eco-friendly scale; think acrylic pom-poms, glittery foam stickers and plastic gem stones. While these products look very appealing to children, it’s worth having a conversation with them about where these little bits of plastic end up. Is the environmental impact really worth the five minutes of sticking and gluing? 

With half-term in mind, here are five easy to set up activities that make use of eco-friendly and natural materials which can be recycled or composted once you’ve finished. Lay your materials out on a table and ‘invite’ your children to explore them in any way they choose, there is no set expectation here! 

1. Decorated Sticks 

Go out for a walk and find some large sticks or even pieces of bark. Set out on a table with chalk, paint or both. If you’re happy with a bit of mess, provide chalk with a little grater and a bowl of water so children can mix their own chalk paint (use soft pavement chalk rather than the small hard sticks - Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalks are great). 

 

2. Cardboard Creations

Cut a large circle out of cardboard for each child, along with lots of smaller shapes. Set out with PVA glue and spreaders. If children are daunted by such an open-ended task, suggest they make a pattern, a face or a pizza! Once the glue is dry, the cardboard and be painted or decorated with pens.

 

3. Play Dough Dens

Find some small sticks and other natural items such as pinecones and evergreen leaves. Provide play dough and some small characters or animal figures. Challenge your children to make a cosy den for their toys which will keep them warm and dry. 

 

4. Nature Collages

Gather leaves, small sticks, dried flower heads etc. Lay out with a piece of card (a piece cut from a cereal box will work well), some PVA glue, scraps of coloured paper or tissue and some eco-glitter if you have it. Let the sticking begin!

 

5. Foil Painting

Painting on foil is a lovely sensory experience. Wrap a square of cardboard with foil for each child to use as a canvas and add pots of ready mixed poster paint and different sized brushes. Cotton buds also work well for creating dots (use the ones with paper sticks).

 

For more nature inspired creativity, visit www.wonderandwildclub.com  

Happy making!